Detectives declare woman's death a homicide

Published: Monday, December 31, 2012 at 4:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 31, 2012 at 4:49 p.m.

Detectives are releasing few details surrounding the suspected murder of a woman found dead in her southwest Ocala home on Sunday.

Carolyn Wagner, 64, was found by neighbors in her bed, in a pool of blood, at her home at 4802 SW First Ave.

On Monday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office would say only that the case was being investigated as a homicide. Details on how Wagner died or how long she was dead were not released. Neither were any details released about why the Sheriff’s Office believes the crime is a homicide.

“We’re not going to release anything other than what we did this morning,” said Rhonda Stroup, a sheriff’s detective investigating the case.

She would not say if they had identified any suspects.

Wagner’s body was discovered just before 11 a.m. by Sally and Amin Khan, who offered details about the scene as well as background on Wagner.

Sally thought it strange that several days’ worth of newspapers were on Wagner’s driveway and her garage door was open. While walking her dog, she went into the garage and tried to contact Wagner. She eventually entered the house and found Wagner in her bed covered with a quilt. Then she saw a large amount of blood. Amin also saw the body and noted that there was no weapon visible near the body,

They could not tell how Wagner was wounded.

On Monday, yellow crime-scene tape stretched around Wagner’s home in the Lemonwood II subdivision. Her approximately 3,000 square-foot home is among dozens of stately homes in the subdivision.

Several cars drove past the house on Monday, which is located on a road ending in a cul-de-sac. Marion County sheriff’s crime scene units were inside the home, as well as several detectives. Items were taken out of the home in paper bags.

The Khans said Wagner moved into the home in 2005 with her husband Roger, a real estate property appraiser. He died in September 2011, after falling off a cliff at Christine Falls, a popular tourist spot in Mount Rainier National Park near Seattle.

Roger Wagner, who was a real estate appraiser, and Carolyn bought the house for $315,000, according to Marion County Property Appraiser records.

They moved to Ocala in 1994, according to a Star-Banner article published after Roger Wagner’s death. In that article, Carolyn Wagner recalled her husband’s passion for outdoor sports and photography.

The couple’s son, John Wagner, 31, was with his father when he fell while trying to photograph the falls.

The Kahns said the younger Wagner was an attorney in Philadelphia and was supposed to visit for the holidays. They were not sure if he made it but said there were people at Wagner’s home during Christmas.

No one from the Wagner family could be contacted on Monday.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Stroup at 369-6845 or Crime Stoppers at 368-7867.

<p>Detectives are releasing few details surrounding the suspected murder of a woman found dead in her southwest Ocala home on Sunday.</p><p>Carolyn Wagner, 64, was found by neighbors in her bed, in a pool of blood, at her home at 4802 SW First Ave.</p><p>On Monday, the Marion County Sheriff's Office would say only that the case was being investigated as a homicide. Details on how Wagner died or how long she was dead were not released. Neither were any details released about why the Sheriff's Office believes the crime is a homicide.</p><p>“We're not going to release anything other than what we did this morning,” said Rhonda Stroup, a sheriff's detective investigating the case.</p><p>She would not say if they had identified any suspects.</p><p>Wagner's body was discovered just before 11 a.m. by Sally and Amin Khan, who offered details about the scene as well as background on Wagner.</p><p>Sally thought it strange that several days' worth of newspapers were on Wagner's driveway and her garage door was open. While walking her dog, she went into the garage and tried to contact Wagner. She eventually entered the house and found Wagner in her bed covered with a quilt. Then she saw a large amount of blood. Amin also saw the body and noted that there was no weapon visible near the body,</p><p>They could not tell how Wagner was wounded.</p><p>On Monday, yellow crime-scene tape stretched around Wagner's home in the Lemonwood II subdivision. Her approximately 3,000 square-foot home is among dozens of stately homes in the subdivision.</p><p>Several cars drove past the house on Monday, which is located on a road ending in a cul-de-sac. Marion County sheriff's crime scene units were inside the home, as well as several detectives. Items were taken out of the home in paper bags.</p><p>The Khans said Wagner moved into the home in 2005 with her husband Roger, a real estate property appraiser. He died in September 2011, after falling off a cliff at Christine Falls, a popular tourist spot in Mount Rainier National Park near Seattle.</p><p>Roger Wagner, who was a real estate appraiser, and Carolyn bought the house for $315,000, according to Marion County Property Appraiser records.</p><p>They moved to Ocala in 1994, according to a Star-Banner article published after Roger Wagner's death. In that article, Carolyn Wagner recalled her husband's passion for outdoor sports and photography.</p><p>The couple's son, John Wagner, 31, was with his father when he fell while trying to photograph the falls.</p><p>The Kahns said the younger Wagner was an attorney in Philadelphia and was supposed to visit for the holidays. They were not sure if he made it but said there were people at Wagner's home during Christmas.</p><p>No one from the Wagner family could be contacted on Monday.</p><p>Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Stroup at 369-6845 or Crime Stoppers at 368-7867.</p>